Annealing-furnace.



C.'J. NOLAN.

ANNEAL'ING FURNACE. APIfLICATION FILED 1111.15, 1913.

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. Patented Jan.19, 1915.

c. .LNOLAN. I ANNEALINGFURNAOE. APPIQIOATION FILED JAN.15,.1913.

. 1,125,154. Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

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I pair-3n sae OFFICE.

CORNELIUS J. NOLAN, or TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE LiBBnY GLAssCOMPANY,

or TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

ANNEALING-FURNACE.

To all 1071 am it may concern:

' Be it known that I, ConNnLIUs J. NOLA a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful AnnealingFurnace; and I do herebydeclare the. following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to thecharacters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention elates particularly to annealing ovens for use inconnection with the manufacture of glass articles, but is not limited tosuch use as it may be employed in any connection for which it may beadapted or appropriate;

1n the use ofthe prcsent formsof annealing furnaces dilficulty isexperiencedin ob: taining a uniform heating and cooling of thearticlcsbeing annealed, and to partially overcome the objectionsincident to such uneven annealing, it has been common to subject thearticles to a second and some-- times a third annealing operation, thusnecessitating at least a double handling of the articles and verymaterially increasing the operating expense of the plant both as to fueland labor.

' The object of my invention is the provision of an annealing furnace oroven of the character described, which is adapted to ef feet a uniformheating and cooling of all articles disposed therein, whereby toovercome the defects incident to the use of the annealing ovensheretofore employed, and to obviate the necessity of subjecting articlesto a plurality of'annealing operations to obtain commercially practicaland satisfactory results, thus saving a considerable part of the presentcost of annealing cut glass ware or the like.

A further object of the invention is the provision'of an annealingfurnace, which is so constructed, both with relation to the relativearrangement of the fire-flues and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

Application filed January 15, 1913. Serial No. 742,136.

following specification, and While, in its broader aspect, it is capableof embodiment 1n numerous forms, a preferred embodiment thereofis-illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is acentral vertical section of a. furnace embodying my invention. Fig. 2isa side elevation thereof, and Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged cross-sections.thereof taken onthe lines w, as and 3 y, respectively, in Fig. 1;Referring to the drawings 1 designates the outer casing-or wall of thefurnace,

which is of upright cylindrical form with lts upper end portioncontracted and termi nating at its top in an outlet'flue 2 for theproducts of combustion. Within the lower portion of the chamber which isformed by the casing 1 is a fire-chamber 3 in which,

should gas be employed as a fuel, are disposed a plurality ofgas-burners 4 that are carried, in .the present instance, by a com;

mon circular feed-pipe 5 having connection with a suitable supply-pipe 6extending from any suitable-source of gas. supply.

The roof of the fire chamber is designated 7 and is supported by aplurality of posts or standards 7, or in any other suitable manner.Rising from the roof 7 of the fire-, chamber within the casing l, inpreferably concentric spaced relation thereto, is an interior wall 8,which forms an interior annealing oven 9 that-is round in cross-section,and cooperates with the outer Wall 1 to form an annular flue 1 0therebetween, which flue communicates at its lower end with'thefirechamber 3 aroundthe edge of the roof 7 and at its upper end With theoutlet fine 2.

It will, of course, be -understood that the walls 1 and 8 and otherparts of the furnace exposed to the direct action of the furnace heatare constructed of fire brick or other material suitable for thepurpose.

Mounted for rotary movements'within th annealing oven 9 is an articlecarrying rack which comprises,,in the present instance, a 0

verticalshaft 11 frolnivhich a plurality of equidistantly spaced flangesor partitions 12 radiate, as shown. Theshaft '11 is journaled at itslower end in a center pedestal-bearing 13 in the top of the fire-chamberroof 7, 9

which also forms the floor of the annealing oven, and has its upper endJournaled in a center bearing 14-;in thetop portion of the .oven Will;The flanges or partitions 12 of the rack extend at'their outer edges inclose 11 proximity to the oven wall and cooperate to divide the ovenintoa; plurality of vertically elongated annealing compartments ofsectoral'form in cross-section. Each of therack compartments has itsopposite side walls, or those formed by the flanges 12, provided with aplurality of vertically spaced transversely disposed grooves orguideways 15, into oppositely-disposed registering ones of which therespective edges of article carrying shelves 16 may be inserted inproperly spaced superimposed order.

Provided in one side of both walls 1 and 8 of the furnace and extendinacross the flue 10 is a filling opening 1 which is formed by a casing 17and opens communication between the interior of the oven 9 and theexterior of the furnace, and is preferably closed by inner and outerdoors 18 and 19, respectively. The outer door is retained closed bylatch and hook members 20, or in any other suitable manner. The opening17 substantially corresponds in shape and size to the outer open side ofeach annealing compartment of the rack to enable the shelves 16 witharticles thereon to be introduced through the door opening and insertedin proper position Within the registering compartment or removedtherefrom as desired. When a rack compartment is in register with thefilling opening the outer edges of its side walls or flanges 14: are inclose proximity to the inner side edges of the casing 17 to prevent coolair from entering any other compartment than that which is in fillingposinon.

Attached, in the present instance, to the lower end portion of the shaft11 below the rack flanges 12 is a crown-gear 21 with.

which a bevel gear 22 on a subjacent horizontal shaft 28 meshes. Thisshaft projects through a bearing at its inner end in a standard 24.Rotation may be communicated to this shaft in any suitable manner forslowly rotating the rack.

In the use of my improved annealing furnace the rack compartments aresuccessively turned into register with the opening 17 and filled witharticles to be annealed by the introduction o1" filled shelves 16through said after the filling opening has been closed the heat withinthe oven is slowly raised to the desired temperature "and then graduallylow ered to permit a slow heating and cooling of the articles to effectan annealing thereof, as is well understood in the art.

It is evident by the use of an oven of this character having a rotatingarticle carrying rack that the articles are uniformly heated and cooled,as the turning of the same within the oven prevents any of the articlesfrom standing in a position within the oven which might not be as highlyheated as some other points in the oven. The rotating of the rack Withinthe oven and the registering of a single compartment with the fillingopening during the filling'of the respective compartments also enableseach compartment to be filled without cooling the other compartments,while the compartment being filled is also heated to a suitabletemperature to prevent a chilling of the articles when placed thereinand prior to the turning of the compartment from register with thefilling. opening.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specificconstruction, form or arrangement of the parts except in so far as suchlimitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is,-

1. In an annealing furnace having inner and outer concentric cylindricalwalls form ing an annealing oven and an encircling jacket, said wallshaving filling openings therethrough into the oven, a rotatable rackmounted rotatably within the oven having a plurality of verticallydisposed closed partitions extending to the wall of the furnace'and aplurality of horizontal closed partitions forming with the inner wall aplurality of article-receiving closed compartments.

2. In an annealing furnace having inner and outer walls forming anannealing oven and an encircling jacket, said walls having fillingopenings therethrough into the oven, an article-carrying rack rotatablymounted in said oven and being substantially co-extensive therewith incross-section, said rack having a plurality of vertically disposedclosed partitions extending radially to the inner wall of the furnaceand horizontal closed partition in each section forming with the innerwall a plurality of closed article receiving compartments around theaxis of the rack and a plurality of vertically disposed sections adaptedto register with the filling opening.

3. In an annealing furnace having inner and outer concentric cylindricalwalls forming an annealing oven and an encircling jacket, a rotatablerack having a plurality of vertically disposed closed partitionsextending radially to the inner wall of the furnace and horizontalclosed partitions form.-

ing a plurality of article-receiving closed signefl my name to thisspecification in the compartments vertipally disposed in a plupresenceof two subscribing Witnesses.

rality of sections and a heater located be- CORNELIUS J. NOLAN. neaththe annealing chamber and commu- Witnesses: 5 nicating peripherally Withthe jacket, R. A, BOTHWELL,

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto H. PEITERi

